September 9, 2012 1:47am EDTSeptember 9, 2012 1:12am EDTYou can't blame Keith Price entirely that he didn't perform well for Washington against LSU Saturday. The Tigers are that good. but Price seems to have taken a step back since the end of last season.

Rough start

Two games, two less then impressive outings for Washington quarterback Keith Price.

The last time we saw Price on a national stage, he was outplaying Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III in the Alamo Bowl and racking up seven touchdowns. In two games this season, he has accounted for one touchdown, negative seven yards rushing and has been sacked seven times.

He was harassed all night against LSU, failed to complete 50 percent of his passes and threw an interception on the Huskies’ deepest drive of the game inside the LSU 30. He was sacked four times.

“I felt the pressure and tried to get out a couple of times, and you see I threw a pick trying to do too much,” Price said. “You can’t win games turning the ball over.”

Washington (1-1) isn’t good enough to win consistently in the Pac-12 without strong play from Price. Injuries have hurt the run game, and the defense still is learning in the back seven.

The Huskies need to get better—Price needs to get mentally better—next week against FCS Portland State. After that, it’s three straight games against Stanford, at Oregon and USC.

Physical up front

LSU rotates 10 players on the defensive front, and last night, all 10 looked like stars.

Some of that has to do with Washington’s injuries and inexperience on the offensive line. But most of it has to do with the ridiculous amount of talent in what has become the most critical component of winning big in the SEC.

Those who get after it up front are those who win big games.

Washington pointed to this game as an indicator of how far the program has come under coach Steve Sarkisian. Three years ago, the Huskies lost by eight to LSU in Seattle. That LSU team, though, didn’t have the talent on defensive—specifically, the front four—that this LSU team has.

DE Sam Montgomery was the only starter with a sack; backups Lavar Edwards and Chancey Aghayere also had sacks. There were also 5.5 tackles for loss among the defensive linemen.

“Our goal every week is to impose our will on the offense,” said defensive tackle Bennie Logan. “We’re not close to being as good as we can be.”

The full house

LSU continues to use four tailbacks, and there’s no certainty that the carries will begin to be divided between one or two any time soon.

“We’ve got four capable guys back there that all do different things,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “They’ll all continue to get work.”

And it will, for the near future, be as close to even as can be. Against Washington, Alfred Blue, who was fourth strong last year, started and had 14 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. Kenny Hilliard, third string last year, had 13 carries and score two touchdowns.

Michael Ford, second string last year, had 11 carries; and Spencer Ware, last year’s starter, had eight carries.

“Everyone stays fresh,” Ware said. “Everyone is at their best every carry. That wears on the defense.”